Premier League leaders Chelsea will welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge this Sunday in the biggest clash of the weekend in the English Premier League.
Venue: Stamford Bridge (London)
Key Statistics
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last ten games (W9, D1).
They have kept eight clean sheets in their last ten games.
The Blues have scored at least three times in six of their last ten games.
Manchester United have conceded two or more goals in six of their last ten games.
They have won three of their six away games this season (D1, L2). They have a better record away from home than at home in the league.
The Red Devils have kept just two clean sheets in the league this season – against Wolves and Tottenham.
Head to head
In 58 Premier League games, Chelsea just edges Man United with 18 wins against the visitors 17. In that period, the Blues scored 71 times and kept 19 clean sheets, while the Red Devils scored 72 times and kept 16 clean sheets.
Latest Performances in all competitions
Chelsea: W-W-D-W-W
Man United: W-L-L-D-W
Chelsea
Fresh from a 4-0 drubbing of Juventus in the Champions League, Premier League’s most in-form team Chelsea will play host to struggling Man United this Sunday. Goals from Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Hudson-Odoi and striker Timo Werner ensured that the London side avenged their last month’s loss in Turin.
The home team have been in impeccable form since January when Thomas Tuchel took over, winning 32 times in 50 games under the German.
The former Borussia Dortmund and PSG coach guided the Blues to the Champions League final win last season and is threatening to make a clean sweep of trophies this season with the brand of football his side is playing.
His side have become difficult to break down and are scoring goals for fun despite often not playing with a recognised striker. They have kept seven clean sheets in their last ten games and have scored 28 times in that period. In the league, they have kept clean eight sheets this season and have conceded only three goals at home in the PL.
They enter this weekend top of the table and with a three-point lead over the rest of the league. They will be desperate to keep their record going with a win against this Man United side who are still trying to find a replacement for the sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
However, they are winless in their past seven Premier League games against Manchester United – their longest such run since a 10-game streak between 1938 and 1950.
Possible Chelsea starting line-ups
Edouard Mendy, Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Marcos Alonso, Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Romelu Lukaku.
Injured: Ben Chilwell, Mateo Kovacic
Doubtful: Kai Havertz, N’Golo Kante
Suspended: None
Manchester United
Manchester United bounced back from a run of one win in seven games which led to the sack of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win 2-0 against Villareal in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The win guaranteed that they qualify for the next stage of the competition and gave temporary coach Michael Carrick a good start to his managerial career.
The former Man United midfielder will take his side to London looking to get them back on track with the Red Devils already 12 points behind Chelsea who are sitting on top of the league table.
Despite the gulf in class at the moment, the visitors have a good record against Chelsea having kept a clean sheet in their past four league meetings with the Blues. The only team to record a shutout in more consecutive league games against Chelsea is Newcastle United (six in a row between 1913 and 1919).
Man United have also won three of their past four games at Chelsea, after just three victories in their previous 25 trips to Stamford Bridge.
Although all this record came during the time of Solskjaer, his temporary replacement Carrick will be desperate to continue with that record and make it two wins in two games as the club awaits the announcement of a new coach.
Possible Manchester United starting line-ups
David de Gea, Alex Telles, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Fred, Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Injured: Mason Greenwood, Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane
Doubtful: Edinson Cavani, Luke Shaw
Suspended: Harry Maguire
Prediction
Chelsea 2-0 Man United
